FBI Firearms Checks Sink In November

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported adjusted NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) checks for November were down 12.3 percent to 1,457,103 from 1,662,338.

For comparison, the unadjusted November 2017 FBI NICS figure 2,372,888 reflects a 7.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,554,486 in November 2016.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by several states such as Connecticut, Illinois, and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.